Augustine Asset Management Inc. Has $7.78 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,244 shares of the company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 2.0% of Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 353,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,151,000 after purchasing an additional 4,827 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.94.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $85.73 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.